Caesarean - Was Midwife cruel to insert catheter prior to anaesthesia?

[NowYouTellMe]

Caesarean- Was Midwife cruel to insert catheter prior to anaesthesia- non-urgent birth?

I had induction which led to emcs but the catheter was inserted after she broke my waters before I was put on the drip.
No anaesthetic but she used a numbing spray and gave me gas and air.

This

Nurses mentioned they were inserting a Catheter a few minutes before Cesarean. Didn't bother me at all.

Medical staff seem so hardened to the process of catheterization that they seem blasé about it. On this thread describing having done 'gazillions' and not understanding how birthing women could see the process as cruel. It also seems as though it might be treated as routine and consent not sought, or even explained.

I think it is not unreasonable for women to be concerned about this or prefer for catheterization to happen after anaesthetic.

I think I must have had that after they did the spinal for my c section - I don’t remember them putting it in

i do however remember them taking it out
she deflated something and pulled

ouch

Mine too

I'm having a hot probe on my cervix on Tuesday just with local anesthesia definitely not pleasant, I'd like midazolam 🤣🤣😩 catheter insertion doesn't need anaesthesia it increases the time you need under and theatre time also increases the amount of time you will be under and need monitoring from the anaesthetist.

It is irrelevant whatever or not catheterization is normally done without anaesthesia for other situations.
If a person's experience would be better if done after anaesthesia when anaesthesia is going to be done regardless, then it should be done after anaesthesia unless there is a medical advantage for doing it before anaesthesia.

Not a big deal as local anaesthetic gel is used anyway.

I’ve had two myself by the way

I didn't even realise they had done it till hours later when i went to stand up 🤣
Obviously i knew i needed one, but it must have been done after the spinal block and being draped etc as i just hadn't noticed it being done

I've had one emergency csection under general and catheterisation was done after anaesthetic.

I can still remember the pain of my catheter being put in before my epidural, seven years on. It hurt more than the actual contractions - and they were bloody painful! Odd how it seems to affect different women in different ways. Maybe some nurses are just rubbish at putting them in?

After an excruciating 24 hour labour, and immediately following a horrendous internal where I screamed the place down, the hospital staff were prepping me for theatre to have a c section. I was completely broken, when along came the nurse with the catheter and started getting ready to insert it. I shouted at her to wait until I'd had the anaesthetic. I already felt so brutalised by my labour and could have done with one less intrusive thing to be conscious of. I totally get it and understand how frightening it can be.

I had two more babies after that, had catheters both times, never without anesthetic. Yes, people may have them done all the time without any pain relief but if you can wait until the patient won't be able to feel anything, why not wait until then.

I found getting the catheter removed very uncomfortable each time.

I had one inserted post birth (big drama with continual bleeding through labour and after and then placenta wouldnt deliver) and it didnt hurt. Thats not to say it isnt going to hurt for other women or in other circumstances though, same as snears can hurt or not, so i dobt really understand why if theres going to be anesthesia anyway why not wait but there could be medical or policy reasons to to it that way. I wouldnt have thought that i needed one but apparently a full bladder is not helpful in the circumstances i found myself in and i couldnt go to bathroom because of the amount of blood i was losing and bedpan was working for me. If it hadnt gotten sorted i d have had to go to surgery

During my elective the midwife stood waiting patiently for the spinal to kick in before she did it. Which took ages, I needed loads. Why would they make a woman feel that? Ugh. It was bad enough having it out.

I had on inserted pre cSection and it was awful - I begged them to remove it, which they did and then they reinserted after anaesthetic. Subsequent cSections I asked in advance.
The worst thing was having a drain removed post cSection - I was trying to cover the wound to stop her and was begging her to stop - it felt like a huge assault at the time.

I wouldn’t say it’s cruel because as others have said l, it is usually done with local anaesthetic and doesn’t require a spinal. However if you were just about to have a spinal it seems odd not to wait because this would make it completely painless vs potentially uncomfortable when
done with local

Most peoples replies are completely irrelevant. The point is, someone having an ELCS is having regional anaesthesia so of course you insert the catheter after that. Why wouldn't you? OP is right, it is cruel to do it before when it can be done painlessly after.

The pp claiming early insertion reduces theatre time is talking nonsense - the anaesthetist checks if the spinal is working - when it is confirmed to be effective, the surgeons get the go ahead to scrub in. The catheter is inserted during this time, so it isn't increasing theatre time at all - it would just be dead time otherwise waiting for the surgeons to scrub. The anaesthetists in my trust would never let the catheter be inserted until they are satisfied the spinal is effective.

Of course someone won't have a spinal just to have a catheter inserted - however if you are getting a spinal anyway, why wouldn't you wait for that to work first?

Also, the person saying pretty much everyone has an intermittent catheter in childbirth is completely wrong, most women without epidurals can pass urine themselves.

I am so sorry this happened op, it really really shouldn't have

YABU to claim your midwife was ‘cruel’ for doing something most people don’t need/get an anaesthetic for 🙄

Quite.

You’re so wrong

did I ask you?

delivered part of my placenta myself in the bathroom for my first with no help after ringing for help.

This sounds v strange OP. You are checked for complete delivery of the placenta before they send you back to the ward, as otherwise there's a massive risk of infection.

It’s an open forum. I’m telling you.